Saint Joseph Catholic Church

The apostolic nuncio, joined by UN peacekeepers and Catholic organizations, organized the convoy to assist the residents of Debel amid the Lebanon war.

“The cancellation of a humanitarian convoy—even for security reasons—constitutes a violation of international humanitarian law” and represents “an affront to the defenseless inhabitants of southern Lebanon, trapped in the crossfire of the war between Hezbollah and Israel,” the Patriarch said in his statement. (L’Osservatore Romano did not state whether Israeli forces or others had cancelled the aid.)

Dozens of Christians were killed in Easter attacks across Nigeria.

He concluded:

One day, I asked a woman, married to a Catholic for over twenty years and now seeking full communion, what had taken her so long. Her answer: “Nobody ever asked me!” This, too, is well worth pondering.

“Let us make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts,” he said while delivering his Easter message urbi et orbi (to the city and the world). “For this reason, I invite everyone to join me in a prayer vigil for peace that we will celebrate here in Saint Peter’s Basilica next Saturday, April 11.”

The motto of the apostolic journey is “Lift up your eyes” (Jn. 4:35); the logo is displayed here.

The Risen Christ is “the only hope that can still open, here and now, the gates of peace,” said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M. “He is not merely to be contemplated; he is to be followed. He is not to be held back; we must allow him to lead the way.”

Cardinal Pizzaballa added:

The stone has been rolled away. The passage is open. But we must decide whether to stay inside or go out.

In practical terms, stepping out means choosing forgiveness when it would be easier to harden our hearts; choosing truth when it would be more comfortable to conform; choosing hope when everything suggests the opposite; choosing to do good, just as Jesus “went about doing good,” even if it goes unnoticed, even if it brings no recognition.

In a front-page op-ed in today’s edition of the Vatican newspaper, an Italian bishop described peacemaking as the third way between “naive pacifism” and “vulgar militarism.”